1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods of teaching, particularly teaching a person how to detect potentially incorrect answers while taking multiple-choice examinations, and more specifically, how to detect, while taking a multiple-choice examination, answers that are more likely, in comparison with other possible answers, to be incorrect.
2. Description of the Related Art
Multiple-choice examinations are commonly used for testing in different areas of knowledge. Many review courses and study aids are available on the market. They train prospective examinees in the substantive areas of knowledge and also instruct examinees by teaching helpful exam-taking techniques suitable to the multiple-choice form of examination. Commonly such instructions include, no matter what substantive area is being tested, recommending that the examinee should (i) recheck as many of his test answers as time permits after he has answered all of the questions, (ii) narrow the number of possible alternative answer-choices by some intelligent process of elimination before answering any particular multiple-choice question, and (iii) select by guessing, whenever the examinee is unable to clearly determine the correct answer based on the substantive analysis of the problem, an answer-choice from those answer-choices not eliminated.
Such processes of elimination and subsequent guessing are considered to be necessary techniques to allow an examinee to take full advantage of his or her partial knowledge of the substantive subject matter of the test. It gives knowledgeable examinees an opportunity to narrow possible alternative answer-choices and thus to increase the probability of guessing correctly thereby getting an overall higher score in comparison with an examinee who has no knowledge of the subject matter, who is unable to eliminate at least some possible alternative answer-choices, and therefore has a worse chance of guessing correctly.
While these existing methods are very helpful to students and other examinees, they do not fully exploit a systematic approach that provides a simple, efficient and effective method that could be used during a multiple-choice examination or practice session.